Wrestling veteran Stevie Richards believes Jey Uso could face significant career repercussions within WWE, not for his own actions, but for the public criticisms leveled by his father, Rikishi. Richards speculated that the company could “cool his kid off real quick for a real long time” as a direct result of the controversy.
The situation stems from Rikishi’s harsh critique of WWE’s creative direction following Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship loss to Gunther a few weeks ago on WWE RAW. The WWE Hall of Famer has consistently voiced his opinions on his son’s booking but escalated his comments after the title change, stating that those responsible for Jey’s booking should be fired.
On a recent episode of The Stevie Richards Show, Richards explained the historical precedent for such a scenario in WWE, where a wrestler is often penalized for the public statements of a family member or associate. While he noted that WWE has few ways to directly discipline Rikishi, his son Jey could become the target of unfavorable booking.
“I think they [WWE] did him [Jey] dirty, but here’s what I’m not sure of right now with the current era of WWE. Back in the day, if you came to defend somebody publicly, they will punish that person and they will punish you as well. I don’t know if Rikishi’s in a position where they bring him in and they humiliate him or do whatever, but they could cool his kid off real quick for a real long time,” Richards stated.